


Metal Station

by Kraftpunkz



Category: Dead Rising (Video Games)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Canon Compliant, Drinking, F/M, Flashbacks, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Gore, Heavy Angst, Nick and Annie are friends, Original Character(s), Other relationships not in tag, POV Original Character, POV Third Person, Pre-Zombie Apocalypse, Psychopaths (Dead Rising), Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, Swearing, Tags May Change, Trauma, Violence, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:21:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29366166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kraftpunkz/pseuds/Kraftpunkz
Summary: Los Perdidos is filled with the undead and struggling remaining survivors. Joann was one of the fortunate people who managed to survive as she has one question as hell unfolds around her: How did this all happen?-As she teams alongside Nick and the others, there's more than just helpless people fending for their lives.
Relationships: Nick Ramos/Original Character, Rhonda Kreske/Gary Finkel





	Metal Station

**Author's Note:**

> Originally from 2020 (original date is shown) but published this as of 2/11/2021 so please bear with me as I update this.

The sounds of faint sirens had filled the smokey air of Los Perdidos, a city that was nestled in California ever so comfortably. That was before the outbreaks of feral zombies, however. The putrified smell of rotten flesh and gurgling sounds of what was once humans, unaware of the reality of a nightmare to witness again. Everything was a horrible vision, panicked states, blood, the many witnesses of the undead going after an unwilling victim, leading to their horrible state of pleading for help. The screams of those who were caught stuck between a rigid zombie, those who were spared for another chance at life, and survival before their time was over.

A woman escaped, running as the sounds of piercing screams and undead moans had filled her sense of hearing. Her ears were filled with ringing, drowning out whatever was left of this helpless city. She didn’t want to die, not like this. Her legs and stamina took her as far as she could, escaping. Her vision felt like a blur, her heart was pounding, from the fear and her stamina draining faster than she could run. One trip and she could be a goner, everything around her was an obstacle. Zombies would take notice of her, trying to get the fresh flesh of a live being, but the woman was far too quick for the slow-paced zombies. Her chest became tight, as her breathing got worse, the more she had run, the more her body felt to become a bit tired and worn out.

Her luck was beginning to go down, she hoped, prayed, to at least find somewhere to recharge. That was when she spotted a place, where she can hide out for a while, a place where she can at least hide from the nightmare that was surrounding her. She felt her stomach be filled with hope as she ducked away from any oncoming zombies, running towards the place as if she had unlimited energy. She slammed the door open and promptly slammed it shut as she quickly looked around, her heart was racing faster than the thoughts in her head. Her glistening eyes scanned the room, no soul seemed to be in any sight of her vision. She glanced over at a bookshelf that was close enough to the door she had just entered.

The woman slowly glued herself away from the door, her breathing was unstable, her loud huffs for oxygen was far too loud for the woman as she went to the side of the bookshelf that was away from the door, using any strength she had left to knock it over and use it to barricade herself for the time being, even for the night if she needed that much time to recharge and grab a weapon to protect herself. After she had used the best she could do protect herself, she looked around again, her breathing becoming a bit more stable and in sync, the room she was in seemed to be a small apartment, though the apartment was in shambles, assuming the people who occupied this place left in a hurry, or even dead. The woman could feel herself breathe, her heart pounding at a decent pace. 

Many emotions filled her body, she looked down upon herself, her white tank top was stained with blood and sweat, her camo yoga pants were also covered in the same circumstances. Her skin was stained almost head to toe with blood and sweat. She felt her eyes sting from hot tears, she couldn’t help from the wave of tears now seeping out of her eyes. One moment she was on a jog, the next she was running for her life. In a few instances, she was trapped within zombies, how she managed to escape made her thankful for such a blessing of another chance at life. She began to sob, her thoughts being louder than her ugly sobs of many emotions.

She backed herself up against a surface, slowly sliding down as she kept crying, tears streaming down like a waterfall. She covered her face with her hands, resting them between her knees. She kept sobbing loudly, her voice was hoarse, filled with choked up hiccups and gasps for air in between. Her vision began to slowly fade out, her thoughts seemed so far away now, her voice becoming more distant.

\----

“Joann,”

A deep feminine voice called out, Joann was lost deep in her thoughts, daydreaming about what she would do once she got off of work. “JOANN!” suddenly the daydreaming woman snapped out of her trance, her body flinched a little as she realized what happened. ‘Shit…’ she muttered under her breath as she cursed at herself. She looked up at the person who was calling for her, it was her colleague. Her colleague had her long black hair pulled back in a tall ponytail, the lady had her arms crossed, looking at Joann with a tired look. ‘Sam’ was on the woman’s i.d. that was clipped to the side of her scrubs pocket, with a black ink pen snugly fitting next to it. “Your shift is almost over, you should probably check on your patient before clocking off,” Sam said, her brown almond eyes glued to Joann. She awkwardly chuckled, apologizing profusely.

Joann slowly slid out of her seat, getting up and stretching. The two were on another 12-hour shift, and she couldn’t wait till she got to go home and relax. “I know it’s boring to be on shift, but you seriously need to stop spacing out at times. Especially when more patients are coming in,” Sam said sternly, like a mother scolding her child. Joann sighed, she bit the inside of her mouth, it was true, more and more people came in, sick and unwell. One thing Joann had noticed is the people with the Zombrex chip were the ones sick. Suspicious it was, but it was probably the flu, or a small virus, at least she hoped it was. “I’ll try not to next time, I’m so sorry,” Joann said quietly. Sam only replied with a smile and a small squeeze on Joann’s shoulder. “Atta girl, just a simple check up on your patient and you should be good to clock out alright?” Sam said, patting Joanns shoulder a bit before letting Joann go off and do her job. Joann nodded her head and went on her way.

Her footsteps were quick-paced, heading her way down to the long hallway, the last door was where her patient was being cared for. She grabbed her clipboard, not before using hand sanitizer, the strong scent of peppermint filled her nose, a burning sensation within her nostrils was also greeted there, which made her sniffle a little. Before entering the room, Joann looked at herself with the reflection of the dark tinted window. Her short bob brown hair was a frizzy mess, the bags under her eyes were visible, she could see her blue eyes glisten through the glass. “I need a shower, and sleep,” she chuckled to herself, but it was true regardless, she was a mess. Her hands slid open the glass door as she peeked in, the room was a bit dark, though one thing felt off, the person wasn’t on the bed. Joann’s brows furrowed as she flicked on the light, her eyes felt blinded by the strong light, she covered her eyes for a moment before slowly adjusting enough to see what was in her view.

Blood, blood was everywhere, the bed was messy, the white sheets stained with fresh blood. The blanket was on the floor halfway, and the pillow was tossed across the room. Joann felt her veins run cold, her eyes darted around the room, she felt herself become a statue when she saw a figure crouching in the corner, their back faced towards the woman. “E-Excuse me...is, is everything okay?” Joann said, inching closer to the person. She couldn’t make out what the person was saying, only mutters of incoherent words. Joann extended her arm out, she was hesitant, “D-Do you need help?” Joann managed to stammer out, her hand now placed on the person’s shoulder. That’s when the person slowly looked over at Joann, their face was rotten and decayed, the inside of the mouth was covered with blood and trickling all over their mouth.

Joann gasped in terror, her hand immediately retracted away from the low humming _thing_. The rotten smell of flesh finally had filled her nostrils; the person was eating their arm. Joann screamed as she saw them slowly move towards her, like a predator stalking its prey, hungry for her flesh. She felt herself slipping up from behind as she fell onto the floor, “FUCK!!” Joann screamed as the undead person grabbed her leg, clutching weakly. The blood loss from the person made them frail. Joann shook the grasped hand, kicking them in the face. She managed to escape and frantically crawled away, using her arm strength to get up and slam the door shut, locking it from the outside. Her whole body was shaking, tears welling in her eyes. “Joann! What in the hell is going on?!?!” a familiar voice exclaimed, _Sam_. Joann was so damned relieved to see her older colleague, who was jogging over towards her. A couple of security guards were following suit, seeing the poor shaken up woman had blood covered on her pants. Joann felt herself stammer as she tried to explain what happened, pointing through the somewhat frosted window of the door that had lit the room be a hue of reds and a shadowy figure laying on the ground.

Sam took note of the blood on Joann’s pants, turning to the security guards and muttering to them about something. The startled woman couldn’t make anything out of it as tears streamed down her eyes, her heart pounding. Sam turned back towards Joann, the worried look in her eyes. “I think you should go home for the night, Jo. The security guards will handle this, and the police are on their way,” the older woman said, giving Joann a reassuring squeeze to her shoulder. “What about you Sam? What if that, that thing comes back and attacks you or anyone!” Joann felt herself lose her sanity, her grip around Sam’s arms as the streams of tears kept going. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be safe don’t worry. You need to get some rest okay?” Before the startled woman could mutter out another word, the older woman hugged Joann tightly, reassuring her that everything will be okay. “I’ll call in the morning, does that sound okay to you?” Sam quietly said, only getting a sniffle and a nod in response. Sam hummed at the response and gently peeled herself away, giving Joann a warm smile. Joann wiped her tears away and smiled back, gradually walking away from the scene.

  
She sighed intensely, speed walking to the employee’s room, opening the door, and carefully entering. Her alarm was still high, but she decided to be quick and leave fast as she could. Peeling her bloody scrub off and undergarments, she tossed the scrub in the trash, her undergarments being tossed in a plastic bag, then into her backpack. She quickly got on her clothes, sighing happily as she felt the warmth of her clothes that were stored in her locker priors before. She closed her locker, tossing her backpack over her back as she headed into the bathroom. She badly needed to wash her hands and face, going over to the counter and turning on the faucet. Coldwater wept under her hands, soap being scrubbed into her skin was what she needed, badly. After a few minutes of doing so, her upper body leaned over the counter and splashed water onto her face, making her shiver. Her wet hands slowly clenched on the side of the counter, looking up at herself. Worn out was all she could even begin to describe herself. Stained tears and tired, fearing eyes, her once glistening blue eyes now contempt with fear. Zombies? That couldn’t be able to happen, no way. The government should _have_ this under control. She looked away for a moment then slowly dragged herself to exit the staff locker room, grabbing her bag and hoisted it up onto her back.


End file.
